Only a Dream
by Kahnaii
Summary: Currently being rewritten. See Kahnaii on Twitter for updates! ** Poll on my profile for Aelita pairing. **
1. Nightmare

**Author's note:  
Greetings! This is my second story, and my first time diving into the Code Lyoko fandom. It's been a while since I've watched the series in its entirety, and, as such, there may be errors in canon or OOC moments. Please let me know via review or PM if you see something that needs work. Each chapter of this story will be of varying length, and I've broken the chapters up by perspective. This chapter is quite short, but I think most will be longer. I'll try to keep a consistent update schedule, and will probably be uploading weekly.**

 **Chapter publish date:  
26 Jan 2017**

 **Content warning:  
This story will contain some blood, minor violence, fluff, and angst. Please keep all of that in mind before reading. If you think the story is in the wrong rating, please let me know.**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 **Code : Nightmare**

It was Saturday, and in France it was a chilly morning. Frost clung to every surface, and the sun's rays had just barely begun to melt what little of the ice they could. Winter was coming, heralded by the bite of the gentle breeze that swept through the tranquil city and the bitterly cold nights.

At Kadic Academy, the mornings were always quiet, and this morning, the coolness of the air crept into everything it could, leaving the halls of the dormitories too chilly for most students' liking. If one had the displeasure of being a fly on the walls of Kadic when the weather was like this, many a complaint would be heard.

'Why can't we control the heaters in our rooms?' some would say.

'Kadic must be run by cheapskates,' others would grumble.

This morning was much like the others before it. It was still too early for most to be awake, though, so the dormitories remained quiet. Come breakfast time, many a curse and groan would escape the Kadic students.

For now, a peace had settled over the campus. Stars still filled the sky.

One dorm room was not quiet, however. It was filled with the whimpers and cries of one lost in the terror and hopelessness of dreams.

The resident of this room lay in bed covered in a layer of sweat despite the chill that surrounded her. Her hands were clenched tightly, gripping her pillow so tightly that her knuckles were white, and her pink hair clung to her skin.

Her name was Aelita.

To say Aelita had nightmares sometimes would be an understatement. She had terrible dreams more often than not.

Sometimes she'd dream of wolves.

Most of the time, her slumber would be haunted by visions of her parents. Each night she saw them, they would be killed or would vanish before her eyes.

Very rarely in her dreams, she would watch her dearest friends meet their fates in the virtual world she was so familiar with. All the 'could-haves' manifested in her nightmares. Several times, she woke up thinking she'd lost them all to the digital sea.

This dream was different from the others.

Now, she dreamt of something completely new.

 _Aelita's eyes were wide as she approached the fallen boy. His body lay crumpled like a forgotten doll, limbs bent at distressing angles. Maroon splotches covered his skin and his garments, and by the smell she knew it was blood. A lot of it. The boy's hair was black with his life fluid, and clung to his head as if magnetized._

 _She couldn't tell who it was. She'd never seen the clothes he wore, and his hair was too far altered to recognize._

 _When she finally reached him, she felt her body shut down, and she dropped to her knees in the grass. It was cold, but she hardly felt it, for her body was chilled to the bone already. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body, which was quivering violently._

 _She hadn't even noticed that her hand was to her head, holding her phone up to her ear. Only when she began to speak did she realize it._

" _Jérémie. Return to the past. Please. If we don't-" As she heard herself speak, her voice cracked with emotion. It felt strange to hear her voice without actually speaking._

 _The phone dropped out of her hand and landed with a dull thud._

 _Her body was wracked with a cough, blood expelling itself from her mouth. She ignored the physical and emotional pain and crawled closer to the fallen boy. Each centimeter caused her agony. Her chest felt like weights were compressing it, and her hands stung._

 _She heard herself wailing, pleading._

" _Please, no, please, stay…"_

The scene shattered, and Aelita awoke with a start, tears pouring out of her eyes.

"No…."

Sobs tore through her body. Though the physical pain she had experienced was but a memory now, her heart felt like it had been ripped in half. The misery of the dream felt real. No, it _was_ real now. It had made sure of that.

For what was not the first time, Aelita was glad she didn't have a roommate.

She curled up into a tight ball, lost in her grief, and waited for her morning alarm to come.

* * *

 **Author's note:  
** **Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know what I've done wrong (or right). I will take care to address anything that may concern you. :)  
The next few chapters will be mostly fluff to set up the story.**


	2. Anticipation

**Author's note:  
Hello! It's me again! You might be saying to yourself, 'You said you'd be uploading weekly!' Well, with how short these first few chapters are, I'm going to be shortening the time between them a little bit. Chapter Three will be coming sometime between now and 2/9, and, if everything goes according to plan, Chapter Four will be published on 2/9.  
As a side note, a new poll has been added to my profile concerning our dear Aelita. I might pair her up with someone for the story, but I'm not quite sure whom. If you'd like to vote, you are welcome to do so. The options are '** **Jérémie', 'Odd', 'Neither', and 'Both', for if you're a sucker for love triangles. Vote or don't, it's your choice.**

 **Chapter publish date:  
** **31 Jan 2017**

 **Content warning:  
No content warning for this chapter in particular, but keep in mind future chapters will have some potentially unsettling content.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 **Code: Anticipation**

That morning, more than one student found sleep escaping them.

A young blond male laid in bed, a slumbering dog curled up next to his stomach. The boy had gotten a few hours of sleep himself, but he'd woken up to an uncomfortably full bladder, and now sleep was refusing to return to him.

The main culprit was his stomach. Odd Della Robbia was _hungry._

Perhaps the chaos of the past few days had multiplied his appetite. Adventures in Lyoko often made the warriors feel ill or weak, but sometimes it made Odd feel ravenous. Even when Jérémie sent them back, the hunger stayed. Odd thought maybe it was psychological, not that it made a difference when it came to the satisfaction provided by a full stomach.

Odd's mind naturally drifted to the breakfast that was awaiting him in the cafeteria.

He remembered it being uncharacteristically delicious, like something you'd spend actual Euros on as opposed to the usual bland offering. It had all been fresh and amazing, and Odd couldn't get his thoughts away from the thought of the meal he was going to have.

He opened up his phone and was greeted with a blindingly bright screen.

Kiwi seemed to notice the brightness, and while Odd was hissing and covering the screen with his blankets, Kiwi let out a low whine.

"Shh, shh, Kiwi, I'm sorry," Odd whispered. "It's O.K. Go back to sleep." He murmured soothingly to his pet, but Kiwi was having none of it. He jumped off of the bed and curled into an angry ball by the other bed in the room, glaring up at Odd in the darkness.

Odd sighed gently. Hunger and exhaustion were fighting for his attention, and he couldn't seem to address either.

He carefully opened his phone back up, prying it open and pointing its beacon towards the wall.

 _Ugh._ An hour until breakfast. As if lamenting, Odd's stomach let out a growl.

"Do you have another dog over there or is that just your stomach?" Ulrich's voice was low and hoarse with sleep. In the black room, he grinned, though Odd couldn't make it out now that he'd practically blinded himself with his phone.

"I think I'm starving to death," Odd whined. "XANA kept me from eating lunch."

"You'll be fine."

"But will I?" Odd laid on his most dramatic voice. "If I am denied sustenance much longer, I shall wither away until there is nothing left! The Lyoko Warriors will be devastated by my loss, and poor Kiwi shall fall into inescapable grief!"

"Wow. I didn't know you knew those words."

The blond's stomach let out a pained groan, and he ignored his roommate's vocal jab. "See? I need _food_."

"You'll get food soon. It isn't _that_ long until breakfast." Ulrich rolled out of bed, careful not to step on the sleeping dog. "I'm turning on the lights."

With a prolonged sigh, Odd covered his eyes. "Fine."

Kiwi, very unhappy with the morning's series of events, whined again at the sudden light.

Odd propped his head up on his arm, rubbing the sleep out of his eye with his free hand. "What are you doing up so early?"

Ulrich grunted and headed to his dresser. "I've got business to take care of."

Odd grinned devilishly. "That business wouldn't be with a certain _girl_ , would it?"

"Of course not," Ulrich said almost immediately, prompting a widening of Odd's smile.

"Finally taking the dive?"

Ulrich paused. "I can't." His face was passive as always but his tone betrayed his anxiety.

" _C'mon,_ buddy. You go ask her, she'll say yes, and then we can have breakfast to celebrate." Odd rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"She won't say yes."

"Are you sure about that?"

"We're ' _just friends_.'"

"She's nuts about you, Ulrich. People don't look at _just friends_ the way she looks at you. Trust me, I would know."

Dating practically every girl in Kadic had made Odd almost an expert when it came to the game of love. Or, at least, the game of flirting.

Ulrich closed his dresser a little forcefully. "If I promise to go to breakfast with you will you drop the subject?"

"That's not fair. I just want to help out." Odd frowned. "Also, I went to breakfast alone the last time around. Won't you take pity on me and eat with me? Food is always better with friends."

He sighed, rubbing his temple. "Fine. I'll meet you in the cafeteria when I'm done."

"Woo!" Odd cheered, earning another glare from Kiwi.

Ulrich went for the door.

"Ulrich?" Odd spoke his friend's name with an unusual softness.

He stopped in response, hand on the doorknob. "Huh?"

"You can't keep her waiting forever."

His mouth set into a hard line. "I know."

Ulrich left without saying anything more, leaving Odd to sit in the silent room and think about their conversation.

 _Maybe he's actually going to do it._ Odd chuckled to himself. " _Quand les poules auront des dents_!"

A few minutes later, Ulrich returned to the room, clothes changed and attempt made to tame his mess of hair. That attempt had failed, of course, but one couldn't say he didn't try.

Odd sniffed. _Is that cologne? Maybe he_ is _going to ask her._

Ulrich placed his old clothes in his laundry pile, and left once more, not saying a word.

Odd's face slowly formed into a grin.

The previously silent room was then filled with the sound of a phone's keyboard.

* * *

 **Author's note:  
** **Thanks again for reading. As always, feel free to let me know if I've done something wrong or something right, or if you have ideas for future chapters / stories.  
Also, if you're French or speak French and I've horribly mutilated it, let me know and I'll fix it.**


	3. Worries

**Author's Note:  
Chapter Three, as promised. Chapter Four should be out on Thursday (2/9).  
The poll will be open for a few more chapters/weeks. I will warn you before it is closed.  
As a side note, I tried to give each character distinct voices in their text messages. Let me know what you think.**

 **Chapter Publish Date:  
5 Feb 2017**

 **Content warning:  
Just tears and bad grammar in this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 **Code : Worries**

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when Aelita couldn't cry any longer.

She had done the research once. Crying was healthy; it reduced stress and could even clear the skin. So, she let the tears come and flow freely over her cheeks down to her soft pillows. It was logical, of course. Fighting them would only make them come faster, and perhaps would even make it hurt more.

It wasn't the first time she cried alone in her room. Often nightmares brought tears, and sometimes trips to Lyoko did too. Usually it was when she nearly lost friends.

Perhaps that was her biggest fear.

Aelita reached over and grabbed her phone, quickly reaching the message history between her and one of her dearest friends- Yumi. Being the only girls in the group had certainly brought them close, but their openness with and support for one another kept them so.

She sent a text message with shaking hands. [ **Hey. Sorry for the early message. Could we talk later? I had another dream, and I need someone to tell me I'm silly for freaking out about it. ~A** ]

Unexpectedly, her message was quickly replied to.

[ **Are you ok? We can meet now, if you want. I'm up.** ]

Aelita smiled to herself while reading Yumi's message, wiping her dried tears with a free hand. [ **Let's meet up after lunch. I need some time to think about everything. Thanks, Yumi. ~A** ]

[ **Ok. Let me know if anything comes up.** ]

Aelita put her phone down beside her, sighing lightly. It felt good to sigh.

 _I guess I should get up, then._

She sat up, arms quivering slightly, and went to get up. She was, however, interrupted by her phone going off once more.

[ **Hey aelita!** ], the text message read. [ **Dont tell ulrich i told you this but i think he's FINALLY going to ask yumi out. I was thinking theyre probably gonna go out tomorrow (you know how predictable those two can be LOL) so maybe we could go hang out somewhere in town so we dont get in their way. Maybe we could even drag einstein away from that computer for a few hours while were at it.** ]

She replied quickly, thankful for the distraction. [ **Really? You think he's going to do it? ~A** ]

[ **Yeah. He went out to meet her and wore cologne and everything!** ]

[ **Wow. O.K. Let's do it. Did you have somewhere in mind? ~A** ]

[ **Yeah you gotta help me convince jeremie. You know as much about computers as he does so im sure you can convince him that getting away for a bit is good for him. You coming to breakfast? Breakfast is hella good today so you better come!** ]

She grinned. [ **O.K., Stomach. I'll be there. ~A** ]

Aelita showered and got dressed, choosing a rather fancy outfit compared to what she usually picked for the weekends. The grey and black sweater she put on fell to the middle of her thighs, and underneath she wore a white camisole and black leggings. She pulled on a pair of grey flats with black ribbons on them, smiling to herself. Keeping busy with coordinating an outfit had demanded her attention.

There wasn't time to think about- _No. Later. We'll think about it later._

She put on some eye makeup to cover her puffy eyelids, retroactively grateful to Yumi, who'd given her a bundle of makeup as a gift a few weeks before.

 _I wonder if she noticed my puffy eyes from the last few times._

She gathered her school supplies together and sat down on the bed, her hands gripping the exposed sheets tightly. Her heart felt heavy and her throat felt thick. She bit her lip to keep herself from getting emotional.

As Aelita waited for her morning alarm to sound, she did her best to think logically about the dream.

 _It's just a dream. Psychic visions don't happen. It's just a dream._

She repeated the mantra in her head, trying her best to convince herself through repetition. It worked sometimes. This time, however, it didn't.

 _Who was that boy? How do I know him? Do I know him?_ She recalled the anguish she'd felt in the dream. It had felt much too real to be her imagination. It lingered within her now, just as powerful. _It must have been someone I know. But who?_

Her alarm went off then, and she headed to breakfast, gears in her mind turning and hand firmly gripping the strap of her bag.

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
Thanks for reading! I promise the chapters will be longer soon.  
I wanted to divide it up by event/perspective to make reading and navigating through the story would be easier.**


	4. Proposal

**Author's note:**  
 **New chapter! Sorry everything is starting off slowly. I hope it ends up feeling worth it!**  
 **As always, let me know what you think, and if anything is glaringly OOC, let me know.**

 **Chapter publish date:**  
 **9 Feb 2017**

 **Content warning:  
None for this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 **Code : Proposal**

Yumi Ishiyama took a deep breath.

The air was crisp and fresh, just as one would expect it to be that time of year. The smell of leaves had begun to fade along with autumn itself. Winter was fast approaching, evident by the glimmer of frost on every surface. Each gust of wind seemed to be carrying winter in with it.

For now, though, it was still autumn.

Yumi remembered how cold the morning had been, so she dressed a bit more warmly than usual. She wore black skinny jeans, her favorite pair of combat boots, a dark grey blouse, and a forest green jacket with faux fur on the hood. The coat had been an early birthday gift from Hiroki (funded by their parents), and it reminded her immensely of Ulrich. It was the _exact_ same color as his jacket. Frankly, she was impressed that Hiroki had managed to match the colors so perfectly. He was dedicated, at the very least.

Yumi stretched, standing in front of her house.

It was beautiful outside, and she couldn't turn down a walk. She'd gone on one before the return to the past, and it had been great, so she figured another walk wouldn't hurt. Perhaps it would release some of the pent-up energy that Lyoko had built up in her.

 _Oh, how I wish these days could last forever, saving the world with my best friends._ She smiled to herself. _Where would I be without them?_

The short walk to Kadic was uneventful but enjoyable. Old leaves and frost crunched underneath Yumi's boots, and the breeze was gentle enough to not make her shiver.

She tucked a lock of her ebony hair behind her ear. She'd been letting it grow for a little, and it almost reached her shoulders now.

Yumi found herself still smiling. Something felt, well, right. Maybe it was something in the air.

The day went from feeling right to feeling great when she spotted a particular brunet near the campus gate, looking around expectantly. His face wore the usual neutral expression, but something in his posture spoke nervousness.

 _What in the world could he feel nervous about?_

As she walked closer, his gaze turned in her direction. His expression shifted briefly when they made eye contact, but he reined it in quickly. A small smile tugged at his lips, but he stayed where he stood.

"Hey, Ulrich. What's up?" Yumi returned the smile without even thinking about it.

"Hey. You're up early," he stated simply.

"So are you. The sun's still coming up."

"Oh, uh, yeah." His cheeks turned pink for a brief moment. "Can we talk?"

Yumi found herself laughing. "We're talking already, aren't we?"

He looked away, blatantly adjusting his backpack and refusing to look her in the eye. "I mean alone."

 _Alone, huh?_ Yumi's face turned scarlet. "Oh, sure. That's fine."

They walked silently together, Ulrich leading her away. Eventually, he stopped at a quiet spot behind the dormitories. At the right time of night, this area was full of couples enjoying the solitude, but, in the mornings, it was always empty. It was a rather strategic location, as only someone lurking in the woods would be able to see them. Bushes and the wall around campus hid them well here.

Yumi broke the silence that hung between them. "So. What's up? Everything O.K.?"

He nodded slightly. "Yeah. It's the same as always."

 _Is he…,_ Yumi thought _. Sad?_

She put on a reassuring smile, tilting her head a little. "Yeah? Is that a good thing?"

"Well." He took a deep breath. "That's what I wanted to talk about."

To say there were butterflies in her stomach would be an understatement. To her, it felt like birds flying around in there.

Ulrich put on a serious face, not unlike the one he usually wore when he was in Lyoko.

"Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" He spoke so quickly Yumi almost missed it.

She smiled. "Oh. Sure. Do you want to invite the others, or-"

"I'm only inviting you." For a moment his words seemed not to respond to her question, but his bright cheeks betrayed his intentions.

"Oh." She couldn't stop the surprise from corrupting her tone.

Ulrich scratched the back of his head, looking as awkward as Yumi felt. "I told Odd I'd grab breakfast with him, so I gotta go." He turned away from her but spoke again, turning his head in her direction. "Let me know what you think, O.K.? If you don't want to, that's fine."

"O.K. I will." She smiled again. "I'll see you later, then. Say 'hi' to Odd for me. I'm gonna go take a walk."

"See you."

He looked ahead and walked away towards the cafeteria.

Yumi didn't move for a while, instead letting the gentle breeze cool her down.

All that crossed her mind was, _Wow._

She blushed deeply and tucked her hair back behind her ear, willing her pounding heart to slow down, and made her way to the park.

* * *

 **Author's note:**  
 **Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a great week.**


	5. Persuasion

**Author's notes:  
I wanted to add some playful interactions between Odd, Aelita, and Jer so I can get more familiar with them before more serious things happen in the story. My apologies again for how short this chapter is. The next chapter is looking to be more than double the length of this one. So, if there's anyone actually reading this, I hope it's something to look forward to rather than dread.  
As always, let me know what you think, what I did wrong, or what I did right, and holler if anything is OOC.**

 **Chapter publish date:  
16 Feb 2017**

 **Content warnings:  
Lots of food mentions. Be wary if those sorts of things don't sit well with you.  
I sort of toyed with the idea of Kadic having the horrible standard quality of food that many schools in America have. I'm not sure if schools in other countries have similar issues with food quality. If you're familiar with French schools, let me know what the food is like.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

 **Code: Persuasion**

Aelita placed her tray down gently on the cafeteria table, steam rolling off of her breakfast.

"Hey, Aelita," Odd said, beaming. "You look nice this morning." His grin widened, and he reached over and patted Jérémie on the back. "Thanks for joining me and Zombie here."

Aelita felt her cheeks get warm. "Thank you." She looked at Jérémie. "Jérémie?"

After a few seconds, his gaze lifted to hers, his glasses fogging up from the croissant he had lifted towards his mouth. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

After another pause, he responded. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." He took a tiny bite out of the croissant. "I just didn't get any sleep last night, so I'm a little out of it."

Odd, sitting opposite Jérémie and Aelita, was going to town on his meal, content to forcefully banish his hunger as opposed to talking.

Aelita let her concern fill her voice. "Why didn't you sleep, Jérémie?"

He spoke once more after having a sip of his hot chocolate. "I've been working on an antivirus. It's been going exceedingly well, but I got stuck on some of the syntax. I've been fighting with it…." He looked down at his watch. "I've been caught on this snag since classes finished yesterday. However many hours that is."

Aelita glanced over at Odd, and the two made eye contact briefly. Odd nodded almost imperceptibly, certainly too subtly for the exhausted Jérémie to notice.

"Say, Jérémie, why don't we go out somewhere tomorrow?" Aelita proposed.

"Oh? Why?" He dipped his croissant into a glob of jam that he'd clumsily plopped onto his plate.

"Fresh air. To get your mind off things for a little. Maybe new surroundings will help you come up with a solution to your syntax issue. New stimuli do wonders for getting those gears turning." She touched his hand that he had lying next to his tray. "Besides, I'm worried about you, Jérémie. If you keep this up, you're going to work yourself to death."

He yawned. "The fight against XANA can't wait even a day."

"I know." She smiled reassuringly at him. "But if you stay in that room of yours and do nothing but fight with the code, you'll be stuck in that rut for much longer." Deeply she looked into his eyes. "I know that look, Jérémie. You were going to code during class, weren't you?"

He looked away from her and frowned, taking another sip of his hot chocolate, frowning slightly. "Alright. I'll go."

Aelita was about to express her excitement when he continued.

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, two conditions actually. First, if XANA so much as breathes in our direction between now and tomorrow, we're staying here to defend the school and the factory."

Aelita nodded. "That's perfectly reasonable."

He continued speaking. "Second, you and I are going to calculate the odds of a XANA attack occurring while we're out tomorrow. Anything greater than 25% and we're not going."

She frowned. "Fine. Those terms work." As unhappy as she was with the potential of cancelled plans, his terms made sense. She looked over to Odd, who nodded his head slightly.

Odd then looked at Jérémie, smiling widely. "So. What do you two think about going to a zoo?"

Jérémie peeked over at Aelita, waiting to hear her answer first.

She felt tingles of excitement in her stomach. "I've wanted to go there for so long. I haven't seen real animals other than Kiwi and some squirrels since…" Cupping her chin in her hand and tapping it in thought, she continued, "I don't remember. Probably when I was a child. Oh, I want to go! Pictures of animals are nothing compared to the real thing. Can we go, Jérémie?"

He met her hopeful gaze with a slight blush. "Yeah, of c-course." Jérémie took another sip of his drink and spoke once more, clearing his throat. "Zoos are great sources of knowledge."

"Do you ever take a break from learning, Einstein?" Odd asked with a small giggle.

Jérémie's mouth twisted into a tiny grin. "Do you ever take a break from girls or food?"

Odd's hand froze midair, grasping a slice of peach that was intended to join the rest of breakfast in Odd's stomach. He glanced at the slice, then back to Jérémie. "Point taken."

Aelita looked pensive for a moment. "Hey, Jérémie?"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I was thinking, and…." She tugged at her sleeves absentmindedly.

"Yeah?"

She smiled sadly. "No, don't worry about it. Never mind."

"If you're sure," he said gently.

The trio returned their focus to their meal, savoring the novelty of a delicious breakfast at Kadic.


	6. Expectations

**Author's notes:  
The longest chapter yet for this story! I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out. I've been having a rough time trying to write lately with school and writer's block, so I think I'm just happy that this actually came into existence. The next few sections are pretty short, so I think I will compile them into a single chapter with lines to separate them by character.  
Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter publish date:  
23 February 2017**

 **Content warnings:  
The middle section (separated by horizontal lines) contain several mentions of food and a brief mention of blood.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

 **Code: Expectations**

Yumi'd found herself walking often. She couldn't quite pin down when she had started, but, before she knew it, she was taking weekly or even daily walks around town. Sometimes she'd bring her mp3 player and listen to music, but more often than not she'd find contentment in the sounds of nature.

She thought back to the morning before the return to the past, the morning she was now experiencing for the second time.

 _No, that's not right._ She bit her lip slightly. _Today's a new day_. Before, XANA had once again attempted to destroy Kadic and its students. Now, the only conflict was Yumi's internal struggle.

She smiled slightly to herself at the thought. _Is this what it's like to be a normal student?_

"Miss Ishiyama?"

The call of her teacher brought her focus back to the class at hand.

"What is the answer?" He looked at her expectantly, pointing to an equation on the board.

"Five thirds times sine of four x, sir," she answered quickly.

The teacher looked surprised for a second, then cleared his throat. "Very good. I'm glad you're paying attention." With a timid smile he returned to his lesson.

Yumi smiled to herself again. _No. Normal students don't know the answer to a question before it's even asked._ The smile then died on her lips.

Her morning classes drug on, and for a while she felt as if lunch would never come. She tried her best to focus on the lessons, but sitting through them once had been boring enough. It was a struggle to actually absorb the information rather than just remember it.

Not only that, but a certain face kept creeping into her thoughts, making them cloudy. Just the thought brought color to her cheeks, even though the encounter puzzled her more than anything.

" _Everything's the same as always. That's what I wanted to talk about._ "

 _What made him so_ …. She hunted for the right word. _So forward?_

Her mind shifted back to their previous conversation. _The_ conversation. Something inside of her ached with regret. Looking back, it made sense. They got in fights constantly, and were always getting jealous. Since then, though, they'd gotten so close.

Too close. It was frightening.

 _We'll hang out_ , she thought. _We'll spend time together as friends, and if he wants to bring us up, then he can. I won't bring it up. I can't._ Her throat felt thick with unreleased emotion, but she kept it contained well. She always did.

Yumi pulled her mouth into a hard line, and channeled her energy into the lesson.

It couldn't hurt.

* * *

Long after Yumi made up her mind, classes ended and lunchtime came.

She was the last of her group of friends to arrive at the cafeteria, but they had only just started eating when she set her tray down on the table.

Aelita looked up at Yumi, her expression rosy. "Hey, Yumi. How was your morning?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was exciting?" she asked, sitting down before her tray. Aelita and Jérémie were seated opposite her, and Ulrich and Odd sat next to her in food-induced silence.

With a mischievous glint in her eye, Aelita grinned at Yumi. "Perhaps."

 _D-does she know?_ Yumi's heart skipped a beat as she was caught off guard. She recovered quickly, though, and spoke again. "Class were just as exciting as the first time we sat through them. Though, you should've seen the look on my trig teacher's face when I got the answer right without doing any work."

The two girls giggled while the boys continued to eat quietly, distracted for their own reasons.

"So, are you doing anything interesting for the rest of the weekend?" Yumi asked.

Aelita glanced quickly over at the boys. Jérémie was glancing at some code on his phone, occasionally entering a few commands, and absentmindedly chewing on a strip of meat. Odd, on the other hand, was cramming a huge piece of bread into his mouth. It was so large, in fact, that crumbs and large bits of bread were falling like rain to the table.

Aelita looked back at Yumi, still smiling. "We're going to the zoo." Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Yumi raised an eyebrow. "Isn't hanging around Odd enough of a zoo?"

This prompted another giggle from the pink-haired girl. Soon enough, though, her expression turned serious. "Odd and I were worried about Jérémie, who, as you can see, is drowning in a coding problem, so we decided that he needed a break."

At the mention of his name, Jérémie looked up from the stream of characters on his phone. "Normally, on a project this important, I wouldn't waste any time, but Aelita brought up some good points." His cheeks colored pink as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. "And, uh, those points were that a change of scenery might help me think of a solution to my problem. My coding problem." He looked back down at the phone, his brow furrowing. "I've been staring at this so long that everything is starting to run together. I think some time outdoors will help clear my thoughts." He rubbed his temples.

Yumi spoke once more. "This'll be your first break in what, ten years?" She laughed quietly.

"If you count sleep," Jérémie said without moving his eyes away from his screen, "then I take breaks every day."

Yumi looked back to Aelita. "So, the zoo, huh?" At Aelita's nod, she continued. "Did you invite Ulrich?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Yumi could see Ulrich's previously motionless form jump slightly.

Aelita looked mischievous again. "I was going to, but Odd said he had plans."

Ulrich jumped again, but rather than speak, he continued to consume his food with stiff and precise movements.

For a quiet moment, Yumi pondered this information. After a short while, something in her expression clicked. "Wait, what if XANA attacks tomorrow? Neither of you will be around to operate the supercomputer if that happens."

Jérémie spoke up. "I've been running calculations based on data about pervious attacks, and so far, the probability of one happening tomorrow is about three point five percent. Nothing should go wrong tomorrow."

Odd chimed in, his mouth full. "You just jinxed us, you know."

"I trust my calculations."

Odd swallowed his food. "Dude, have you ever watched a TV show? This kind of stuff happens all the time. The moment the heroes of the story let their guard down, everything goes wrong."

Aelita spoke up softly. "I think we should trust Jérémie. He's keeping an eye on everything, and if XANA does anything, we're not going." She paused, then added with a quivering voice, "And if anything happens, we're leaving immediately for the factory."

Yumi eyed her with concern, and Aelita responded simply with a small smile.

Ulrich spoke suddenly. "You should go."

Everyone at the table turned to look at him, surprised by his sudden exclamation.

His cheeks got hot, and he scratched the back of his neck, avoiding their gazes. "I, well, if something goes wrong, Jérémie can just text Yumi or me with commands to run on the supercomputer. We can buy enough time for you all to get to the factory."

Yumi gazed deeply into the brunet's eyes. She could tell that he had more on his mind. _What else is he thinking?_ She peeled her eyes away from his face, a rough task considering how much she longed to just look at him, and glanced back at the others.

"Also," she said, "If it gets bad enough, we can always call You-know-who."

William had been distant for the past few days, but he would never turn down an opportunity to help.

Ulrich grunted a, "Yeah," and returned his attention to his food.

"Alright, alright," Odd conceded, sipping his drink. "But if it turns out you did jinx us, I'll be right there to tell you I told you so." He rolled his eyes sarcastically and shook his head. "You never say nothing will go wrong before doing something that could go wrong."

It didn't take long for them to finish their meals, for it was almost as good as the breakfast that morning had been. They said their farewells and headed their separate ways, ready to prepare for a fun Sunday.

Yumi, however, hung back in the cafeteria, discreetly pulling Aelita aside.

"Is everything O.K., Aelita?" Yumi asked, lightly touching her friend's arm.

Aelita nodded, her face a frown. "Yes. I've been thinking about it, and I was just being silly."

"What did you dream about?"

Aelita swallowed and bit her lip to keep her emotions in. "It was probably just a dream. I shouldn't worry about it."

"Aelita," Yumi said sternly, prompting Aelita to stop and look her in the eye. "What did you see? If it made you feel something, then it matters."

She looked away, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "I had a dream this morning. I was in the woods. You know, by the sewer entrance." She bit her lip again harder, face clenching with emotion. "There was a boy there with me."

"Who?"

"I don't know." Her eyes squeezed shut, no doubt in a struggle to remain composed. It was clear this dream had left her with very powerful feelings. "He was injured. There was blood everywhere." She shuddered, eyes still closed and arms wrapping tightly around herself. "The last thing I remember, I was on the phone with Jérémie telling him to return to the past."

Yumi tilted her head. "Huh. Why would you be outside the factory and not in Lyoko?"

"I don't know." Aelita's eyes misted. "I remember feeling so broken. It hurt so badly, as if I was right there experiencing everything myself. It was more real than any dream I've ever had." She opened her eyes and looked up at Yumi. "I don't want to think that it could even be remotely real. I don't want to think that someone could get hurt."

"Aelita…." Yumi walked closer and embraced her. "It'll be O.K.."

They stood there together for a while in silence. After a minute or so, Yumi pulled away, offering a comforting smile.

Aelita wiped her eyes. "Thank you," she murmured.

Yumi put a hand on her shoulder gently. "I'll do everything I can to help things go well. Ulrich and I will stay close to the factory, and we'll call you the second anything suspicious happens. We won't take any chances."

Aelita smiled up at her, cheeks red from her flaring emotions. "Thank you."

"Let's make sure your nasty dream is just a dream."

* * *

A few minutes later, Yumi was headed off campus. She'd been so distracted thinking of Ulr- no, of Sunday's events that she hadn't even thought about how to spend the rest of her Saturday.

 _Maybe I'll go to the mall. I can get something nice for tomorrow. Kiwi did soil one of my good pairs of jeans._

She'd only been outside the campus grounds for a few seconds when she spotted Ulrich again, though this time he was leaning against a tree near the walkway. He looked casual but his expression was as expectant as it had been that morning.

He looked up when he heard footsteps, but said nothing and remained where he was.

"Hey, Ulrich. When do you want to meet up tomorrow?"

He looked startled for a moment, as if he'd expected a rejection.

 _Yeah, as if I could turn his offer down. Who could say no to spending a day with Ulrich Stern?_

"How about the park right up the road from school?"

"The one with all the flowers?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds good," Yumi said with a nod.

"Nine fine with you?"

"In the morning?"

"It's O.K. if—"

"That works. I'll see you then?"

"Oh. Yeah. Tomorrow." His smile was small and restrained. "Message me if something comes up."

"You too." She smirked. "You better not keep me waiting."

"Same to you, Yumi."

He turned and headed back in the direction of the dorms, Yumi watching him as he left. The muscles in his arms looked rigid, and his posture seemed stiff.

When he disappeared behind a wall, she watched it for a moment as if he were going to pop out from behind it. He didn't, of course, but she stayed there, hair rustled by the breeze, and watched it for a little while.


	7. Sleepless

**Author's note:  
This chapter is divided up into several small sections. I wanted to spare you all the annoyance of having to go through a bunch of separate tiny chapters, so I put them all together. Let me know what you think.  
A big thank you to aleksamagicka! Your reviews are greatly appreciated. It's nice to hear back, and your messages make my day!**

 **Chapter publish date:  
2 March 2017**

 **Content warning:  
Brief suggestions of violence in the last segment.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

 **Code: Sleepless**

Ulrich was walking back to his room when a large purple and yellow form stepped into his path. It was Odd, naturally, who was grinning ear-to-ear at him.

"So," Odd said. "She said yes, right?"

"Yeah," Ulrich responded nonchalantly.

"See! I told you so!"

Ulrich glared at him for a moment and continued walking to his room.

"Look, buddy, if she wasn't head-over-heels for you she would've either turned you down or given you a long 'this is just a friends hanging out thing' speech."

"I'm sure she will eventually. She's made her expectations about us very clear."

"Ulrich, Ulrich. Love is all about exceeding expectations."

Odd bounded off somewhere, leaving Ulrich in his dust. Though his face remained passive, Ulrich's mind raced in a thousand different directions. He was anxious, nervous, scared, excited, elated, and what felt like a million other things.

When he got back to his room, it was empty of both Odd and Kiwi.

 _I wonder where they are,_ he thought briefly before his mind wandered back to _her._

There were so many things he wanted to do with her. A movie, dinner, a game, maybe some sparring, kissing- he stopped at that thought and felt his heart flutter.

 _Don't get ahead of yourself, buddy. We're just friends. That's it._

He sighed and laid back in bed.

His brow furrowed. Every time he tried to think of Yumi, no matter what he thought of his next thoughts were of _the talk_. The one that haunted more than a few of his sleepless nights.

 _We'll hang out for a while. Maybe she'll change her mind._ He grimaced. _I won't push it. If she wants to take back what she said, she'll say it._ He bit his lip. _I hope._

Ulrich spent a great while lying there and hoping.

* * *

Yumi's walk home was uneventful enough that she barely even remembered it when she got home. Most of the time had been spent playing through various scenarios in her head.

 _"_ _Yumi, I love you."_

 _"_ _I think you were right, Yumi. Just friends."_

 _"_ _Thanks for coming. I wanted to introduce you to my girlfriend."_

 _"_ _Let's be together, Yumi."_

By the time she stepped through her bedroom door, she'd heard just about every possible reason for Ulrich wanting to hang out. They'd been friends for so long that she could _hear_ him say those things to her.

She tried doing homework to get her mind off of his voice and his face. It didn't work; she'd already done the homework before the return to the past and knew all of the answers.

She pulled out her phone and sent a message. [ **Hey, Aelita. You doing anything tonight?** ]

After a minute, she got a response. [ **Jérémie is taking a nap right now, and we've got the monitors running on both of our phones. I have nothing on my schedule. Do you want to hang out? ~A** ]

[ **Would you like to go to the mall? I need a new outfit for tomorrow.** ] She thought for a moment and erased the last sentence. [ **Kiwi ruined my nice pants, so I need to get new ones.** ]

[ **O.K., When do you want to meet? ~A** ]

[ **Whenever you can. I finished my homework.** ]

[ **I will leave soon. I need to tuck** **Jérémie in.** ]

Yumi laughed out loud. [ **Okay. See you soon. :)** ]

Yumi leaned back in her desk chair with a wide grin on her face. _An afternoon out with Aelita will be great. It'll do us both some good._

She grabbed her purse, put her jacket back on, and headed downstairs.

"Hi, Mom," Yumi greeted. "I'm going to the mall with Aelita to get some new pants."

Her mother smiled warmly at her. "Alright, Yumi. Be safe and call me if you need anything."

"Thanks." She hugged her mom. "I'll do my best to be back before dinnertime."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Yumi departed.

* * *

Aelita looked at the message one more time, then looked over at the sleeping boy next to her fondly. Jérémie had fallen asleep at his keyboard, and gentle coaxing had led him to the bed where Aelita pulled blankets over him. He looked surprisingly peaceful, his golden hair falling in whichever way it desired. Aelita had pulled the blanket up under his chin. He laid on his side, and one of his hands laid next to his face outside of the blanket.

Aelita touched Jérémie's hand gently, careful to not disturb his slumber. _I hope we can keep everyone safe._ She chided herself for her negative thoughts. _No. Focus on_ now.

She paused, and something occurred to her _. Jérémie has such soft hands…_

She straightened with a fierce blush, and left the room quickly and quietly.

* * *

"Yumi! Over here!" The pink-haired girl waved towards her friend.

Yumi looked around for the source of the voice, and her face lit up with recognition when she made eye contact with Aelita. She walked over swiftly.

"Hey! That was quick. I'm guessing Jérémie didn't put up a fight?"

Aelita covered a giggle with the back of her hand. "I _did_ have to peel his face off of the keyboard. Somebody fell asleep while coding."

"I'm glad he's taking a break tomorrow. The bags under his eyes at lunch were darker than my wardrobe."

Aelita sighed. "I'm glad too. I'm really worried about him."

The girls headed towards a clothing shop.

"You said you needed new pants, right, Yumi?"

"Yeah. Kiwi, well, soiled mine." She looked at the store display with red cheeks. "He had an accident, and there's no way I was carrying those pants home to wash."

"Yuck." Aelita wrinkled her nose. "Is this shop fine?"

"Absolutely. The prices here are great. My part-time job doesn't pay that well."

The girls looked through the selection of clothes in the shop.

"That reminds me," Yumi said, "How is your job going?"

Aelita's face glowed. "Great! My boss is letting me play some of my own tracks in the afternoons!"

"That's awesome! You should let me know sometime and I'll tell everyone to tune in."

Aelita blushed and smiled. "Thanks." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, pants."

It didn't take long for them to find Yumi suitable jeans, for she always bought the same style and size. She was active, but didn't work out so much that she was bulking up. It was amusing to her how much stronger she was getting through daily exercise without losing her thin shape.

Naturally, Yumi's thoughts danced to Ulrich, who had also been working out every day. Unlike her, he'd been getting bigger, most notably in the arms and—

Yumi shook her head and looked back to Aelita. "So, um, is there anything you needed to pick up while we're out?"

"Do you think Jérémie would be upset if I installed a baby monitor by his computer?"

* * *

After dinner, Yumi let herself fall back onto her bed.

 _Everything will go well tomorrow. Maybe it'll go great. I hope so._

Next to her, she heard her phone vibrate.

[ **9am sharp at the park. Don't keep me waiting.** ]  
[ **… Looking forward to it. –U** ]

Yumi laughed out loud at the two lines of text, each in stark contrast with the other.

[ **Same to you.** ] Her response was brief, but said what it needed to.

She did some stretches and low-intensity exercises to wind down, then looked at the message again.

 _I'm counting on you._

She drifted into a jumbled mess of dreams.

* * *

Aelita had been trying for almost an hour to fall asleep.

She groaned and rolled over to stare at the ceiling.

Gazing at the dull, much-too-familiar panels did nothing to keep her mind under control. It raced between scenarios, filling each moment with new, horrifying possibilities.

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Aelita. I couldn't devirtualize him in time. Odd is gone."_

 _"_ _It killed him! It killed him! Why couldn't it have taken me instead?"_

 _"_ _You know returning to the past can't bring someone back to life. There's nothing we can do."_

 _William threw himself at the beast, whose massive arm knocked his limp body to the ground._

 _"_ _He's been, well, deleted."_

Aelita curled into a ball, fists clutching clumps of her hair in an attempt to distract herself.

But, unfortunately, her attempts were in vain.

The dark visions didn't cease for many hours.

* * *

 **Author's note:  
Thanks again for reading! Let me know what you think.  
Up next is the big day! Everything starts well for our young heroes, but will it stay that way?**


	8. Dawn

**Author's note:  
Hey! Sorry about the lack of updates. Spring break came, and I procrastinated like nobody's business. To make up for it, I'm going to upload the first half of this chapter early, and will update it later tonight with the rest of it. I hope I've kept your interest up to this point! I'm still super skittish and nervous about writing and sharing it.  
Thank you to the lovely reviews! You all make me smile and want to keep going!  
**

 **Update:  
Second half uploaded!**

 **Chapter publish date:  
16 March 2017**

 **Content warning:  
Lots of food mentions in the second half.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

 **Code: Dawn**

Yumi couldn't believe her luck.

Here she was, in the arms of probably the most sought-after guy in all of Kadic Academy. She, Yumi Ishiyama, the girl who until what felt like a lifetime ago felt like she'd never have a friend in her life.

One of his arms was snaked around Yumi's waist, clutching gently at her sweater. The other cupped her cheek, a broad thumb idly caressing it. He looked down into her eyes - when did he get taller than her? - and smiled, his beautiful eyes a sea of amber that she could happily get lost in.

"Let's work this out, Yumi. I know we can." His voice was smooth, like honey, but it sounded far away.

She closed her eyes, leaning into his hand. It was soft. "I don't want to lose you."

"Look at me," he pleaded in what was almost a whisper.

His eyes were filled with something she couldn't place.

"I can't bear to lose you either." His hand left her cheek to join his other one behind her back as he pulled her closer. "I love you."

"Ulrich, I-"

A cheerful melody filled her ears, drowning out her words and destroying her dream.

"Dammit," Yumi grunted, fishing out her phone and practically slamming the dismiss button for the alarm. "Dammit, dammit." She fell back into her pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

Curse _that alarm. Why couldn't it have waited a few minutes?_

She groaned. _Stop whining, Yumi. It was just a dream._

 _Just a dream._ She frowned.

She glanced out of her window. Warm sunlight had just begun to peek over the horizon, and the neighborhood was bathed in an orange glow. Her clock told her it was, in fact, seven in the morning. She hadn't overslept.

Yumi looked at her phone once more, unlocking the screen.

Ulrich's message was still there.

[... **Looking forward to it. –U** ] It was the closest thing to affection she was going to get. Nothing like-

Her cheeks lit up, and she slid out of bed.

 _A good warm up will get my mind off of... things._

She did some simple exercises, just enough to get her blood racing through her veins. Eventually, though, she gave up trying to distract herself and went for a shower. It was a cold and brisk one, for she didn't want to linger too long. She didn't want to risk jinxing the day by getting her hopes up too high.

 _Just a good, normal day with a friend._ She forced a smile at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were lively and bright, and her cheeks were a warm pink. Her gaze broke off, and she looked down towards the sink. _But what if…_

Yumi's jaw clenched. _No. It will be fine._

She put her eye makeup on, a winged look that made her iris color pop, and pulled clothes on. She'd chosen her outfit the night before, made up of a form-fitting tank top, a tight dark-grey sweater that fell to her shoulders, and her new pair of black skinny jeans. She didn't hover long in her room, gathering her wallet and phone and heading downstairs.

To Yumi's surprise, Hiroki was already there, making quick work of some fruit.

He glanced at her wryly. "Off to meet Ulrich so early?"

She stopped in her tracks. "What? No. Of course not."

Her answer had been far too rushed, and Hiroki's smirk widened. "Sure." After a bite, he continued. "Clearly you're going out for a walk in the cold just for the fun of it."

"I like walking, thank you, and I _am_ just taking a walk." She began putting on her combat boots and tightening them.

"Right. Say 'hi' for me." He stuck his tongue out and ran upstairs.

Yumi sighed. _It's like_ everybody _knows._

The air outside was as pleasant as it had been the morning before, and she breathed deeply, relishing the smells of the season. The chill brought color to her cheeks and her nose, and she smiled at the fog that resulted from her breaths.

She looked at the time on her phone. It was a little after eight.

 _Plenty of time._

She began a leisurely pace towards the park, frost crunching beneath her boots. The sound was another source of joy for her. It reminded her of times past. Simpler times.

She rubbed her hands together to warm them up, mentally chiding herself for not bringing gloves.

 _Huh. It's really cold today. Ah, well, that's no problem._ She tucked her hands into her warm pockets.

In what felt like no time, she made it to the park. It was a lovely place, though it was really just a forest clearing with a path running through it. The block it was in was large and consisted mostly of woods. The clearing was in comparison small.

What was most notable about this park was the abundance of flowers. They grew all over in large patches, with different patches blooming at different times of year. Local volunteer organizations maintained the park, and their hard work was evident. The place was gorgeous all year, even then when most of the flowers were gone.

Yumi brushed one of the several park benches off, her hands numbing from the chill, and took a seat.

She sat rigidly for a while, but eventually adapted to the cold wood of the bench and leaned back. Her gaze lifted to the sky.

That morning, it was bright blue. Towards the horizon were thick clouds, but here, it was beautiful.

She smiled for what was probably the hundredth time that morning.

Everything felt right.

* * *

It was lunchtime at Kadic, and the cafeteria was teeming with hungry students. Aelita was sitting in her usual place at a long table by the window.

Her friends were there, too. Jérémie was next to her, scrolling through his phone with one hand and poking at soup with the other. Odd was being his usual self, though his intake of food was slower than usual. Perhaps he was savoring it. Even William was there, sitting across from Yumi. The two were laughing amongst themselves, deep in some private conversation.

A voice broke Aelita out of her silent observation.

"What's up, Princess?" Odd looked at her, his food momentarily forgotten.

"Huh?" She glanced back at him.

"You haven't so much as touched your food." He pointed at her tray, where her meal sat. It was as pristine as a school lunch could be. "If you don't want it, you could always give it to _moi_."

"Oh." She looked down at her food, then back to Odd. "You can have it. I'm not really hungry." She sighed. "I'm just tired."

"Thanks, Aelita." Odd beamed at her, then pulled the second tray up to sit next to his own. He winked at Aelita. "You're the greatest!"

She felt herself blush. _Huh? What's this? Why?_ "It's no problem."

"Any time you have food you don't need or want, just pass it to Odd Della Robbia, the world's finest food processor." He snickered at his own joke before returning his attention to his meal.

Aelita scowled and looked back over to William and Yumi. They'd turned serious, their trays cleared and set to the side. Yumi's arms were crossed over her chest, and William's hands were folded so tightly that the knuckles were turning white. Yumi talked quietly then, making small but pronounced hand gestures, producing nods from William.

Aelita looked to her left, then back to her right, confusion filling her.

 _Wait, where's Ulrich?_

She looked back to Jérémie, who was coding away without a care. His face was blank and focused, showing no signs of concern.

As if to make sure she wasn't seeing things, Aelita looked back to her left. There were only empty seats and window to a snow-covered courtyard. She blinked a few times, and it didn't change. She looked back towards her friends.

Her eyes widened. Yumi was gone now too, and William was sitting next to Odd. He was stabbing at his sandwich with a fork and focused his gaze intently on anywhere but towards the rest of them. Even Odd looked slightly uncomfortable, now eating his food slowly.

"Jérémie?" Aelita said. It came out as a whimper.

He looked up. "What's up, Aelita?"

"Where's Yumi?"

Jérémie paused, his fingers freezing over his phone. He pulled on the neck of his sweater as if to let air in and gulped. When he spoke, he didn't make eye contact. "Well, sometimes, when things like that happen, people need space." He peeked over his glasses to look at her. "It'll take some time before any of us are feeling O.K. again." Looking back down, he said glumly, "I haven't even seen her on campus since, well, you know…."

Odd spoke then. "She hasn't been at lunch for a week now. Haven't you noticed? Or have you forgotten already?" His usually exuberant voice was low and almost monotone.

 _What's going on?_

"Yumi's been hit pretty hard," William said quietly. "I've never seen her so…." He thought for a moment. "Unguarded." His mouth set in a hard line. "She'll come back soon, though. She's strong."

Aelita scowled again. "She was just here, though. She was talking to you."

"She was?" William began scanning the cafeteria, brow arched.

Odd simply shook his head.

"I swear she was." Aelita closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"You should get some rest, Aelita." Odd looked at her warmly. "Take a day off. I know you're pretty hurt too. You don't have to put on a mask for us." He frowned. "You should eat something." He pushed Aelita's tray back towards her. "Here, I saved you the best part: the muffin. I know they're your favorite."

She forced a smile at him. "Thanks, Odd. I didn't even notice how hungry I was."

"It's just like you to put others first," he said with a strained laugh. "Wake up."

"What?" Aelita blinked twice, her eyes blurring.

"Your alarm was going off forever," Odd said. He was standing beside her bed, a tray in one hand and her phone in the other.

"I brought you breakfast. You seemed down yesterday." He paused for a moment, the gears turning. "I hope you don't mind me being in here." He put Aelita's phone down beside her. "I came to get you and I heard your alarm going off from the other side of the building." He put the tray in front of her and sat himself at the desk with his own tray.

"Sorry, Odd. I must have slept through it. I was having the weirdest dream." She rubbed her eyes. Suddenly, a smell caught her attention. "Is that a muffin?"

"Yeah." Odd grinned. "I know how much you like them, so I picked one up for you. I figured you would appreciate having a nice breakfast before a day out."

"Thanks. I had a hard time falling asleep. Some food will be nice."

"Don't worry, Princess. I won't tell anyone what you were saying in your sleep." He winked at her, mouth full of food.

"Attractive," she said, laughing loudly. "Is Jérémie awake?"

"Yep. He's buying us tickets online. He says the line for that should be shorter."

"Maybe." She pulled the tray onto her lap. "Thank you for breakfast."

"No problem. The most important meal of the day is breakfast." He held up his muffin as if to make a toast. "Let's start this day off right!"


	9. Departure

**Author's note:  
Hello! Thanks a bunch for sticking with my little story this long!  
In today's episode, we meet an OC! I hope you like her. I'll try to develop her more in the future. She'll get a full description, probably in the next chapter when the gang arrives at their destination. Let me know what you think of her! I don't want to make her too abrasive or shift the focus too much away from the canon characters.  
Thank you again for the lovely reviews. You all are too sweet. In response to Mukopolisakarida specifically, the chapters are extremely short due to my own shortcomings. I've never written more than small snippets of stories before without getting frustrated and scrapping them. I hope with this story to get more comfortable with longer plots with more stakes than just feelings. Thank you so much for your review. You had me giggling like a girl with a crush! Speaking of crushes, I hope you enjoy this chapter. ;) (And I hope you can forgive me for later chapters!)**

 **Chapter publish date:  
23 March 2017**

 **Content warning:  
Minor language and some food mentions. If you can't tell, I really like food.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

 **Code: Departure**

A satisfied hum escaped Odd's lips. "Ah, that really hit the spot." He rubbed his stomach contentedly. Each movement made his hair bounce. He'd let it grow out quite a bit, and had found it much harder to maintain his signature mountain of hair. It looked then more like a wild, untamed shrub.

Aelita laughed. "I always forget how fast you eat. Here, all I've got left is the muffin. Could you take the tray back for me? I've got to finish getting ready."

"Sure thing, Princess." Odd grinned at her. "We're meeting up by the front gate and leaving from there." He made some inexplicable hand gestures as he made for the door. "I'm gonna go make sure _somebody_ didn't fall asleep again."

"O.K. Thanks again." Her face filled with a wide, gentle smile. Odd was a dork, and sometimes his silly jokes were enough to make anyone groan, but he was a sweet guy.

"No problemo. Make sure not to take too long. I don't want to risk trying to sneak through the girls' dorm again." With a smirk, the blond left, both trays in hand.

Aelita sat there for a minute, unsure of what to do first.

 _Oh! I almost forgot!_ Aelita swiftly grabbed her phone, thumb sliding across the screen and opening her contacts list. She tapped a relatively new but familiar name and sent a text message.

[ **Good morning! Do you work today? ~A** ]

[ **Morning, cutie. I don't work until tomorrow night. What's up? Miss me already?** ]

Aelita giggled. [ **Of course. I wish we worked together more.** ]  
[ **Want to get off campus for a little? I'm going to the zoo with some of my friends and we need a ride. ~A** ]

[ **Oooh. Are they cute?** ]

[ **Want to find out? ~A** ]

[ **Ooh. Sold. Does my car have enough room?** ]

[ **Yes. Thank you! I owe you one. ~A** ]

[ **You do. :) Just text me and I'll drive over to get you.** ]

Aelita stretched and slid out of bed. She'd been laying there for what felt like too long, and her limbs were stiff. After a few groans and pops, she grabbed her phone again to message Odd.

[ **Hey. I got us a ride. I'll text you when I'm done and we can meet outside the dorms. ~A** ]

After a moment, a response came. [ **Nice job! Ill let jeremie know.** ]

She put her phone down with a smile. It was hard to think about her unpleasant dreams with such a fun day ahead of them. She hoped that Yumi and Ulrich would have a good day too. They both looked unhappy so often, she thought they deserved to forget the stress of school and home for a while.

 _If they end up working things out, that's just a bonus._

Aelita changed out of her pajamas into a cute but comfortable outfit: her favorite Subdigitals T-shirt, a skirt that fell to her mid-thigh, and striped leggings that matched her shirt. She loved the versatility of leggings, how they kept her legs warm but were cute and kept her from chafing. She grabbed a pair of boots that Yumi had given her and pulled them on. It would be a good idea to wear sturdy shoes. Aelita remembered going to the park once in flats; her feet never forgave her for that incident.

She filled her purse with the essentials, double checked that she had everything, and sent out her texts.

As she went to grab the door handle, she paused for just a moment.

 _Everything will be fine._

She swallowed hard, chest heavy.

 _It has to be._

Aelita departed, eager to see her friends.

Outside, it grew colder.

* * *

Yumi didn't have to wait long. She sat on the bench for a while, looking around the park and observing the changes that had occurred since she was last there. It had been a while, long enough that the last time there'd been several bright patches of flowers. Now, the only bright thing was the thick layer of fallen leaves that lay like carpet underneath the bare trees. It amazed her how something could look like this for a whole season but come back to life beautifully in the spring.  
The sound of sneakers on stone interrupted her silent musing. Yumi looked up and caught the eye of just the person she wanted to see.

"Hey, Ulrich," she greeted, smile warmer than the air around them.

"Hey." He closed the distance between them. "Pretty chilly out today, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Yumi sighed. "And here I was going to force you to take me out for a picnic." She clicked her tongue. "It's too bad. I made little sandwiches and everything."

Ulrich raised an eyebrow, stopping in his tracks.

"I'm kidding," she said, laughing lightly. "If anything, I'd make you something at home. Picnics are just asking for ants on everything."

Ulrich rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Um, we can go out later for food, if you'd like."

Yumi smirked. "Sorry, Stern, but that isn't how this works. You asked me to hang out, so _you_ decide what we do."

"Oh." He looked down at his shoes for a second before gazing back into her eyes. "Well, ah, do you want to train with me? I haven't done anything yet today."

"That would be great. I think my face has gone numb." To emphasize, she poked her cheeks. Indeed, she could barely feel them.

"Awesome. I need to make up for you beating me last time."

Yumi stood up and wiped herself off. She groaned a little when she realized that her body temperature had melted some of the frost underneath her and made the butt of her jeans damp.

Ulrich couldn't help but smile.

"Don't you dare laugh," she growled, face red.

"I won't." He struggled to keep a straight face.

"D-damnit, let's just go." She marched off ahead of him. If it were a cartoon, steam would be rolling off of her head. "I'm not going to go easy on you today, just for that."

Ulrich jogged up to her then slowed to her pace. "Hey, it can't be as bad as that time Odd took my clothes out of the dryer halfway through the cycle. I had to go to class in a wet shirt."

"Had to?" Her scowl melted.

"Yeah. I do all my shirts at the end of the week."

" _All_ your shirts? What, do you own seven of them?"

"Ten if you count my gym shirts. Why do you think it looks like I have the same one on every day?"

"I never thought of that," she lied.

She knew he didn't have many shirts. She could usually tell them apart. A couple of them were the same color, but they had a different texture or had distinct damage. Her favorite was the one with the tear near his stomach-

"Your next birthday I should give you the gift of doubling the size of your wardrobe." She looked up at him. "You could use a bit more black in your life. It goes with everything." She tapped her chin before adding, "and it's harder to see stains from certain four-legged friends."

"Speaking of which…." Ulrich peeked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I washed those pants for you."

Her face turned dark again. For a minute he worried she was angry with him, but she looked up at him briefly, her expression tender.

"Thank you."

. . .

Ulrich looked calm as could be, but his stomach felt like it housed a swarm of butterflies and his heart raced. It felt exciting and terrifying but at the same time amazing. He was right where he wanted to be.

Here he was, on his way to do three of his favorite things:

1\. _Improve the combat skills of the Lyoko Warriors. It was always a good idea for them to learn new ways to fight off XANA's minions._

2\. _Spend time with Yumi. That one was a given._

3\. _Be close to Yumi._

Her presence was like the first bit of caffeine in the morning- energizing and electrifying. She was like adrenaline without the fear or risk of physical harm. She was his dopamine.

He wanted to be closer, to hold her hand or embrace her when she was frightened, but every time he got close he thought about what she said.

 _Just friends._

Everything with her felt natural, as simple as taking a breath. They'd gotten so much closer. Hell, he barely even felt jealous anymore when it came to her, especially after William had somehow managed to win the heart of a certain Elisabeth Delmas.

Ulrich tucked his hands into his pockets.

The cold made him nervous.

He looked down at Yumi, who was walking steadily with her gaze directed forward. Her arms hung stiffly by her sides, and her hands looked pale.

Without thinking Ulrich slid her hand into his own.

She jumped in surprise. "Ulrich?"

He looked back ahead, cheeks heating up. "Friends don't let friends freeze their hands off, right?"

"I…." She bit her lip. "Yeah. You're right."

They walked like that together towards Kadic. Only when they entered the campus did they untangle their hands.

* * *

Odd, Jérémie, and Aelita were standing together on the sidewalk outside of Kadic, talking excitedly amongst themselves.

Odd and Jérémie had changed into warm and comfortable outfits and packed bags with anything they might need for the day. Odd was clad in his latest signature outfit, which consisted of bulky cargo pants and a large purple sweatshirt. Jérémie looked a little less comfortable, wearing a button down shirt, a grey hoodie, and khakis. Aelita thought he looked great, but she'd never say that out loud.

"So," Jérémie said. "What do you two want to see the most while we're out? I'm looking forward to some of the larger mammals."

Odd crossed his arms, eyebrows raised and grin wide. "Never mind that. We can find out when we get there what we want to see. What matters more right now is who we're getting a ride from."

Aelita looked at him sheepishly. "She's a friend from work. Don't worry, she's super sweet."

At that moment, a sedan pulled up next to them. Its front passenger window slid open, and a female voice called from inside.

"I could recognize that pink hair anywhere! Hop in, you three!"

"I call front seat!" Aelita said eagerly.

"No fair!" Odd pouted.

Jérémie shook his head with a chuckle. "Are you two sure you're not in primary school?"

"It's our day off, we're allowed to be kids." Odd stuck his tongue out.

"Fair enough. Let's go."

The three got into the car. It was roomy and very clean, and inside it smelled faintly of lavender. The interior was all fabric and felt cozy and warm compared to the cold outside.

As the car departed, the woman in the front seat spoke. "Hello. Don't worry, I know where I'm going." She paused while turning a corner, then spoke again. "What might your names be?"

"The name's Odd Della Robbia," Odd said, beaming. He continued before Jérémie could speak. "And this here is Jérémie Belpois."

"I see. So these are the cute blonds that you've been telling me about?"

Aelita covered a giggle. "I guess so."

"Wonderful. My name is Adalene. It's great to meet you."

"Likewise," Jérémie said. "Will you be joining us today?"

"If that's fine by you all. I don't mind being a taxi if that's what you want. I've got my payment already." She reached over without looking away from the road and squeezed Aelita's cheek gently between her fingers.

"Stop it," Aelita groaned, face many shades of pink and red.

"You can pinch my cheeks if you want!" Odd volunteered.

"Oh?" Adalene said. "Which ones?"

"Oh stop it, you two!" Aelita said, face now beet red. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, and when she spoke again she was calm once again. "So, Ada, do you want to come with?"

"I'd love to. _Plus on est de fous, plus on rit_. Is that O.K. with you two?"

Odd gave an enthusiastic approval while Jérémie just nodded, as he'd given up trying to talk over the boisterous teens. He silently hoped this new arrival would give him more time with Aelita, seeing as Odd and the girl were getting along really well.

Though Jérémie wasn't much of a daydreamer, he spent much of the car ride thinking about a certain pink-haired princess.

* * *

 **Author's note:  
Thanks so much for reading! I hope to make the future chapters longer. Let me know if this was up to par, or if you think anything needs fixed. :)**


	10. Distraction

**Author's note:  
It's been too long. I'm sorry. I'm still alive! Life just got in the way. Frankly it felt like getting knocked down and kicked a few times. To apologise for the long absence, I'm posting the first portion of the chapter I'm working on as its own snippit. It's a little shorter than the last chapter, but it's not as small as some of the first chapters of the story. I hope you will forgive me for not updating regularly. I will be writing whenever I can, and will hopefully get the next segment out soon.  
For those of you hungry for action and drama, do not worry. Things will be going South soon. c:**

 **Chapter publish date:  
12 June 2017**

 **Content warning:  
Just mild combat in this chapter.**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Code: Distraction**

Much like the campus of Kadic in general that morning, the gymnasium was quiet. Unlike the grounds, which had the occasional student walking somewhere or sitting on whatever flat surface could be found, the gym was empty save for the non-living fixtures inside. If one had yelled, it would surely echo.

From their lockers, Ulrich and Yumi obtained their gym clothes. On somber mornings like this one it unsettled them, how closing the locker doors sounded when echoed through the silent locker rooms. The cold metallic sound reminded them both of unpleasant things.

More quickly than usual, they made their way to the gym proper.

It had been weeks since they last sparred. Tests, work, and XANA had kept them busier than usual. If they didn't take a few minutes in the mornings and evenings to work out, they wouldn't have been able to get any exercise at all. Ulrich had sacrificed much of his family time to go to the gym, not that he minded much.

Ulrich had been strength training often. Since most of the warriors relied on agility, he thought that it would be useful to have some more power at their disposal. If he got stronger, he thought, he could focus less energy on his swords and more on the enemy. In terms he'd heard Odd use when playing his RPGs, Ulrich wanted to 'tank' for the group when William wasn't around.

Yumi's training was less focused, but was just as difficult. To improve her telekinesis and other psychic abilities on Lyoko, she'd started using some of her spare time to meditate with a great variety of stimuli to distract her. She had gotten to the point where she could clear her mind while listening to some of her favorite metal bands on high volume. While she kept her mind sharp she had to keep her body fighting fit as well, so between sessions of meditation she would engage in intense physical exercise.

Yumi hadn't bulked up quite like Ulrich, but one couldn't say she wasn't as strong.

Ulrich made his way to the center of the gym where Yumi was sitting, her legs crossed and eyes closed. She appeared to be meditating while she waited. As he walked over, he noted how snug his shirt had become. He'd had that shirt for goodness knows how long, and it was definitely showing its age. Unfortunately, the time that had worn and loosened the fabric had also seen Ulrich grow in size and muscle, and the shirt was reaching its limit.

As Ulrich drew near, the corners of Yumi's mouth turned upward, and she spoke.

"That took you a while. Forget where your locker was?"

"No," he responded matter-of-factly. "I had problems getting into my shirt. I think it's time to indulge and buy a new one."

"This wouldn't be a problem if you had more than ten—" Her sentence died on her lips when she opened her eyes and looked directly at a certain brunet's torso. "… t-ten shirts. Um. You should buy a new shirt. Yes." She glared towards the floor.

"Something wrong, Ishiyama?" Ulrich couldn't help but tease her. He found her flustered expression, well, cute. You couldn't get him to admit that, though, for fear of being beaten.

Yumi's brow furrowed and a fire shone in her eyes as she looked him in the eye. "Your feeble attempts at distraction won't help you today, Stern." She stood up then and crossed her arms.

Right about that time, Ulrich noticed how, well, sculpted Yumi had become. She hadn't beefed up, to be sure, but the muscle definition was impressive. Ulrich had to keep his gaze from falling past the cropped tank top she wore for workouts to the hard-looking abs below.

Ulrich swallowed, keeping his expression under control. "I don't know what you're talking about." He crossed his own arms, conspicuously flexing the muscles within.

Yumi's scowl broke for a second before she glared hard at him. "I'm going all out today. I expect the same from you." She assumed her fighting stance, one that had evolved over time to be more mobile and feather-light.

If a glare could kill, Ulrich didn't doubt that she could take anyone down. Of course, her fists could probably do that anyway.

…

For as hard as they tried, neither of the warriors could seem to get the advantage. Every time Ulrich actually landed a blow, Yumi either didn't react or returned the favor just as hard. Ulrich's defenses were constantly up, however, and her blows didn't produce much of an effect either.

The two pulled away from each other while maintaining their stances; their eyes were full of life and their breaths came hoarsely.

"Had enough yet, Stern?" the raven-haired girl asked after a deep breath. Wherever her skin was visible, it was covered in red marks. Some of them were intentional—an attempt to build pain tolerance—but there were definitely a few accidental ones. She'd let her guard down a few times.

It was frustrating for sure. She'd trained so much, to the point where she could probably keep a clear mind through anything, but just being in the _same room_ was enough to fill her with distracting thoughts. She needed _closure_. Some kind of resolution. If she couldn't get over herself, someone would get hurt because of her.

Ulrich's lips curled into a dazzling smile. "Nope. You?"

"Beating you…" She swallowed and took another deep breath. " _C'est tellement facile que Je pourrais le faire les doigts dans le nez_. I decided to hold back. A match is no fun if it only lasts a minute."

"I felt the same, actually. I've been holding back too."

They maintained their glares and stances before both melting into peals of laughter.

"You know," Ulrich said after they calmed down once more, "we really should consider getting someone else to train with us. If we keep at it like this, we'll get nowhere."

"You don't think butting heads will get us anywhere?" She crossed her arms and playfully pouted. "You have no faith in us?" To Ulrich, her voice curled around the word ' _us'_ and made him think for a second that she was not only referring to combat. The thought only lasted until she continued. "If one of us actually comes out on top it will be a good lesson, don't you think?"

"I was just thinking that something new would help us get out of this, well, stalemate."

"Mm, you're probably right, but maybe all we need is a change in ourselves. Maybe some motivation." She smiled then, wide and radiant.

Ulrich was distracted only for a second, but it was just long enough for Yumi to sweep her leg underneath him and knock his legs out of balance. He yelped as he fell to the floor, his face beet red.

"I guess new strategies work too," Yumi said, laughing again.

"Distraction is hardly new," the German grumbled. Rather than return to his feet, he crossed his legs and got comfortable.

Yumi's expression fell suddenly, and she sat down on the mat next to Ulrich. "Maybe…." She sighed. "Maybe you're right. Did you have anyone in mind?"

"How about Jim?"

"Are you serious?" Yumi couldn't hide her amusement.

"No."

She tapped his arm lightly. "Really, Ulrich, be serious. You sounded like you had ideas."

"I was actually hoping you would."

"How about William?"

"Are _you_ serious?"

"Yes. He's changed, you know. Sissi's mellowed him out, somehow. If you stayed awake outside of practice you'd know that."

He scowled. "I still don't trust him."

"Ulrich, come on. He drops everything to help us. What does he have to do for you to not resent him?"

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it and looked away. "I don't know."

Silence hung between them for a moment until Yumi broke it, sighing gently. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"No, no, it's fine." He looked back at her. "I told you I'd be more considerate of…." He paused and began idly gripping at the mat. "Of your feelings and that sort of thing. I should try harder. I _will_ try harder. You're still…." He stopped and looked away, face scrunching up into a red scowl.

' _You're the person that matters the most to me...'_

Yumi cleared her throat softly, and when she spoke her voice was tender. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"How about a movie before lunch?"

She grinned. "O.K."

Ulrich's scowl melted into a smirk of his own. "So, I believe I won today."

"And why is that?"

"I managed to hit you thirteen times. You only hit me twelve times."

"That totally doesn't count. I dodged more than you."

"That doesn't count either. I did more damage so I win. If Odd were here he'd say I topped the…." For a second he tried to recall the word. "The leaderboard? Yeah."

"On a normal day I'd fight you for that declaration, Ulrich Stern, but today I'll make an exception. Let's go watch a movie."

* * *

 **Author's note:**  
 **Some of the later chapters will be difficult to write. This is not because of the content, for I am not afraid of hurting our poor friends a little to get the plot going. What brings difficulty is within me, if you'll pardon the potential cliché. I have a... condition? known by some as aphantasia- a lack of visualization. I cannot visualize anything. This includes, for example, imaginary combat scenarios. Because of this it will take a little longer for me to write future events in the story. I will not take another two month break, do not fear!**  
 **Thank you for sticking with me. I hope to make it up to you.  
A note for anyone confused... I have paired Sissi and William in this story. If those reading are not against it, I would very much enjoy making her play a bigger role in the story. Let me know if you would like or hate this.  
I love all of you readers. I couldn't do this without you. -Kahnaii**


	11. Reminisce

**Author's note:  
I'm an awful person! I said it wouldn't be two months but two months have come and gone. I apologize once more. I won't make any excuses, and will do my best to finish the story soon. I have an outline written for the rest of the story. Things should pick up either next chapter or the one after that! Thank you for sticking with me! Let me know if anything is out of character, or if Adalene is disagreeable.  
** **I went back and fixed the spelling of Sissi's name-I don't know what I was thinking. Also, for anyone confused about timelines, this takes place during an... alternate version of Evolution, I suppose.**

 **Chapter publish date:  
27 August 2017**

 **Content warning:  
Mild angst, dog urine, and food. You know, Code Lyoko.  
... There is also a dirty joke. I'm so sorry.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

 **Code: Reminisce**

Aelita had almost burst at the seams when she found out that the station she applied at loved the mix she had made for them. They adored the combination of her warm voice and playful humor, and the way that it invoked a trust and comfort in anyone that heard it. The choice to consider her for the job had been an easy one for them. They'd even sweetened the deal-every weeknight at 11:00 they'd play up to a half hour of her music. EDM was _in_ , and hers was the good stuff.

Without thinking about it, she'd accepted the job offer. Later, when she actually sat down and let the excitement fade, she knew she'd made the right choice. It would be a drag to play the same hits over and over during the day, but getting some airtime for her own songs at night would more than make up for a bit of tedium in the earlier hours.

It'd been a few months since she'd gotten the job, and she still gushed about it whenever they talked. Jérémie loved how excited Aelita got whenever she checked her follower count. After the first week, she'd called him over video chat. He recalled it wistfully.

'-a Soundcloud star, Jer!' She'd spoken so quickly that she cut herself off.

'Good afternoon to you, too,' Jérémie replied with a teasing smile.

Her screenshare suddenly filled Jérémie's monitor. 'Look! _Two thousand!_ I don't even _know_ two thousand people, and that many people are following _me_!'

'That's fantastic, although unsurprising with how high-quality your songs are. If you don't double that by the end of the weekend I'll be shocked.'

After a pause, she responded. 'Thank you, Jérémie. You'll always have the coveted position of my first follower.' She giggled.

'Maybe someday soon I can auction that title off for a few thousand Euros….'

'You wouldn't dare!'

'Yeah.' A warmth spread across his face as he smiled. 'I'm serious, though-your music is amazing. Better than anything I hear when Odd puts his iPod on max volume.' He rubbed his temples at the thought. 'You'd think somebody would've complained to Jim by now.'

'Odd makes music from time to time. I think he plays the old songs so that his new ones sound even better. You should ask to listen some time, they're pretty good, even without the comparison.'

'Yours will always sound better to me.' His face grew hotter. 'That is b-because I prefer your style, of course. It reminds me of chiptunes.'

Her smiling face replaced the screenshare. She'd looked uncharacteristically bashful, and her voice was soft. 'That was the idea.'

Jérémie was brought out of his daydream by the sound of singing. Two relatively high and familiar voices belonging to Odd and Aelita rung perfectly with the pop song that was bubbling out of the car's radio. 'Bubbly' was certainly a fitting word for how the tinkling melody bounced energetically. The pair's voices enhanced the sound.

Occasionally, a third and deeper voice would hum along. Adalene seemed too focused on the road to sing constantly, choosing instead to tap one of her pale hands on the steering wheel. Every so often, though, her singing would join the others.

Jérémie smiled to himself. He couldn't yet tell if Adalene was trustworthy, but she definitely brought out a good side of Aelita. He wanted to see that side more-the carefree, radiant side that came when she wasn't afraid or worried-but she'd seemed so troubled lately. He assumed it was XANA.

He gazed out the window. Distinctly he remembered how she'd looked at lunch. She'd hidden it well, but there was an unmistakable undercurrent of unease. Her hands had gripped her food with white knuckles. Jérémie wanted so badly to comfort her the way he'd seen Yumi doing, but he couldn't. Feelings aside, he knew how much he was tied to Lyoko. It seeped into every facet of his existence, and she knew that.

If the problem was XANA, his intervention would only remind her of it. He couldn't bear the thought. He looked back at his friends-well, friends and friendly-seeming stranger-and this time, his smile was tinged with sadness.

The song ended, and there was a brief pause before the next one started.

Adalene reached over and turned the volume down a few notches.

"How are you holding up back there?" Her voice was cautious but friendly enough.

Jérémie did his best to hide his turmoil. "I'm worried you three won't have any energy left by the time we get there."

Her thumbs bounced off the steering wheel in time with the gentle music. "I don't think you have to worry about that. It's right around the corner."

Behind the sidewalk was a tall wall that obscured the view of whatever was behind it. The car turned a corner, and, sure enough, they had almost arrived at their location. Attached to the tall fence was bright posters advertising zoo attractions.

Across the street was a parking lot bordered on three sides by dense trees. The unbordered side, the one facing the zoo, was dotted by decorative floral arrangements and the occasional solitary tree.

Odd groaned as they drove towards the parking lot.

"It's busy already? They _just_ opened."

Sure enough, dozens of cars were already parked and empty, and more were pulling in every second. The line of people at the entrance extended some ways down the sidewalk.

"Don't worry about it," Aelita said reassuringly. "There's enough zoo to go around."

Odd sunk back into the seat. "I guess _everyone_ had the idea to come early."

Adalene covered her mouth with the back of her hand, trying to hold in a laugh.

Odd, in response, arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"That sounds like a personal problem." She bit down on her lip to hold in her childish chuckles, turning into the parking lot.

Odd chose to try to save his dignity by holding his tongue.

"We're here, nerds," announced Adalene. "Last one out of my car buys me food."

Adalene and Jérémie almost simultaneously slid out of the car with Odd trailing by a few seconds. Aelita, on the other hand, hung back until she was the last one inside.

Odd hung back to wait for the girls while Jérémie made a beeline for the prepaid ticket line, receipts in hand. Aelita slid up to Adalene and linked an arm through hers.

"Oh no," she said sarcastically. "Looks like I'm buying you food, w _hat a shame_."

Adalene smiled and poked Aelita on the nose. "And _you're_ getting something from the gift shop."

Jérémie motioned for the others anxiously, eyeing the incoming crowds. The girls raced to him, arms linked, while Odd trudged behind.

When they were all in line together, Odd held his hands up. "Don't look at me like that. I'm saving my energy." He winked.

"It's not like we're going to be racing around. We've got all day," Aelita said. In the back of her mind, she hoped that was true.

Adalene, who looked like she'd been inspecting the sidewalk, peered back up at Aelita through her eyelashes. "Sorry."

Aelita's eyes widened and she rested her head on her friend's shoulder with a frown. "No, no, Ada. It's O.K. If the boys ditch you, they're just being rude. It's not your fault."

She pouted but didn't respond.

It was then Jérémie noticed the source of Adalene's concern. He'd been so focused on the tickets that he hadn't actually looked at her. Beneath where her short jeans ended, only a sliver of pale skin peeked out before her right leg ended in matte black metal. The knee, calf, and foot were all synthetic. He wasn't surprised he hadn't noticed, for the prosthetic closely mimicked the shape of her other leg, which was covered almost entirely in a tall black sock. He briefly wondered how she could stand wearing it in the sunlight.

He let his gaze linger for only a second before raising his eyes back to their normal level. "Er-sorry."

She looked embarrassed, and waved her hand apologetically. "It's fine. I brought it up. It's, ah, something you get used to. My stamina is pretty fine, so I'll try to keep up and just rest when you all are hanging around one exhibit."

Aelita gently squeezed her arm and offered a reassuring smile.

"So, ah, here's your ticket receipts." Jérémie passed one to Odd and Aelita.

"Oh!" Aelita exclaimed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out another slip of paper. "I bought one for you after I called you, Ada."

"You're too sweet." With a smile, she accepted the ticket receipt. "What would you have done if I didn't want to come?"

"Oh, I don't know."

Odd spoke up. "She'd have given it to somebody, probably." He looked away with a pout. "I wish I could've brought Kiwi with. He loves wild animals. I think he likes to pretend that he's one of them."

"Kiwi's marked too many spots in the dorms to be anything but a domestic dog." Jérémie said it without looking over. His gaze was locked towards the ticket counter.

"What kind of dog is he?"

"Some kind of terrier," Odd said.

Kiwi's story was fuzzy to Jérémie, but he knew Odd had adopted the dog just hours before he'd been scheduled to be euthanized. More recently, he remembered, Odd had sent Kiwi to live with his parents so he could focus on work and school. _And girls._ Eventually, though, Kiwi's absence had left a large hole in Odd's life, and, though he would never admit it, Ulrich's too. Odd snuck Kiwi back into Kadic, and to thank him, Kiwi had urinated on Odd's new sweatshirt. The memory brought a bit of a grin to Jérémie's face.

"Are you sure?" Jérémie asked. "I think he's a bladder with legs and a face."

Aelita tapped her chin. "In my opinion, he's more like a sentient bean."

"Ooh, beans are delish," Adalene said softly, rubbing her stomach at the thought.

Odd gasped in a manner that sounded like it belonged in a middle school play, and his voice turned shrill. "N-no! Don't eat my dog, you maniac! He's not a real bean!"

They were at the front of the line now, and the woman at the counter shook her head with an amused but polite smile.

* * *

Ulrich exited the locker room once again to a quiet room. Yumi waited for him, hair damp from the shower she'd taken. Ulrich silently took in the floral scent that wafted off of her. He loved the contrast between her fierce resolve and the gentle fragrances she wore. It was like her fans on Lyoko-ornate beauty that could cut you in half.

The thought only strengthened his own resolve. He couldn't hesitate-not if he wanted to remain in one piece.

"So," he murmured in an effort to get her attention.

She'd been waiting to see what he'd do. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't muffle his steps enough for her to not hear them. She turned to face him.

"So." She couldn't fully contain her smile.

"Can I take you to lunch?"

She covered her mouth in an effort to stifle her emotions. "Will I be paying again?"

He frowned in a way that made her think of a sad dog. "That was one time."

Yumi leaned toward him slightly and crossed her arms. "To make up for forgetting your wallet and making me pay for your meal, you may buy me lunch this once."

He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued.

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

"It must be close to Kadic. I promised Aelita I'd stay near campus today."

"At lunch yesterday?"

"Yeah." Her mouth set into a hard line.

"Was it that serious?"

She nodded.

Ulrich pushed away his curiosity. If Aelita considered something serious, then it definitely was. "O.K. I'll take you somewhere quick nearby, and we'll come right back."

Yumi smiled. "Thanks."

Anything was worth it, Ulrich thought, to see that smile.

He discreetly bit his lip to keep from grinning like a lovestruck fool, and turned towards the dorms.

They departed together, quietly debating which movie to watch. Frankly, neither of them cared about what movie they saw. It was just another argument to hide their feelings behind.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks again for reading. Let me know what you think! I hope you'll stick around for that good ol' plot to hit like a freight train! I will be writing more whenever I can, and I hope to get more content to you soon!**


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